Priyanka Tiwari
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Nicholas Pooran was Lucknow Super Giants’ most expensive retention ahead of the 2025 IPL mega auction, with a massive ₹21 crore tag—equal to Virat Kohli and second only to Heinrich Klaasen (₹23 crore). His recent form in T20 cricket more than validates that price. In 2024, he scored more runs and hit more sixes than any other player in a single calendar year.
Pooran’s value lies in his elite spin-hitting ability. Certain types of spin just don’t work against him, no matter the match situation. In a notable clash last season in Delhi, he walked in during the fourth over after Axar Patel removed Marcus Stoinis. Pooran took Axar for 20 runs off his first five balls, after which Axar wasn’t brought back into the attack.
He has a history of quick starts—hitting three consecutive sixes off Abhishek Sharma in 2023 after arriving in the 16th over. Since IPL 2023, Pooran has struck at 169.23 against spin in his first 10 balls—only behind Klaasen’s 181.69. In a format where spin disruptors in the middle overs are increasingly prized, Pooran fits the mold perfectly.
Top Strike Rates vs Spin (First 10 Balls Since IPL 2023):
Heinrich Klaasen – 181.69
Nicholas Pooran – 169.23
Shivam Dube – 167.64
Glenn Maxwell – 164.00
Suryakumar Yadav – 151.28
In his latest explosive knock, Pooran hit three sixes in one over from debutant Vipraj Nigam, marking the seventh time he's done that in an IPL over—second only to Andre Russell since 2019. When he gets the right matchup, he maximizes the over like few others.
When Axar Patel tried to slip in an over of part-time off-spin from Tristan Stubbs in the 13th, Pooran responded with a 28-run assault. It was the 13th time he scored 18+ runs in a single over in the IPL, with eight of those coming in the middle overs (7–15)—the most by any player since his debut.
Yet his innings wasn’t just about power. Against Kuldeep Yadav, who had previously dismissed him five times in T20s, Pooran avoided aerial shots, played smartly with sweeps, and rotated strike.
Pooran ended with 75 off 30 balls, scoring only 15 off 12 deliveries from pacers but smashing 60 off 18 balls against Delhi’s spinners. He struck at an astonishing 333.33 against spin—the second-highest in IPL history for batters who’ve faced at least 15 balls of spin in a game, just behind Chris Gayle’s iconic 473.33.
Though Pooran’s innings didn’t match Gayle’s in volume, it certainly matched in impact. His ability to read matchups and dominate spin in crunch phases explains why Lucknow Super Giants invested heavily in him—and why that investment is already paying off.
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